Journey into Fatherhood
by Rose du Nuit
Summary: As every DracoHarry shipper must write one:: Draco gets Harry up the duff. What happens when Harry refuses to tell him?
1. And So It Begins

Harry grimaced as he made his way to the hospital wing. There it was again. That distinct urge to rid his body of his breakfast. Hmmm... must be a stomach bug. After all, men can't get pregnant, right? No, that would just be weird.

He traipsed into the hospital wing and perched on one of the cots while Madam Pomfery wrapped a first-year's arm in gauze.

Once she had dismissed her, she turned to Harry, "Mr. Potter, what have you done this time?"

"I think I've caught a stomach virus."

She gave him a worried glance as she took out her wand and pointed it at his belly. A soft green glow encased his abdomen and she gave him a curious look before ending the spell.

"Mr. Potter, I would normally not ask such a personal question, but when was the last time you engaged in sexual intercourse?"

Harry blushed a red that would make a Weasley jealous. "It's been about two and a half months, why?"

"You're pregnant."

"But... But... Men can't get pregnant."

"True. Normal men can't. But extremely powerful wizards can."

"Bugger!" Harry exclaimed. "Bugger, bugger BUGGER!"

"Who is the father, dear?"

"None of your business!" Harry shouted before rushing out of the wing up to his dorm, where he proceeded to cry on his bed.

And that's exactly how Ron and Hermione found him an hour later, still curled into a ball in the corner of his bed, crying into his pillow. When they discovered the reason for his tears, Hermione automatically wanted to research it, and Ron, automatically knew who the other father was.

"It's Malfoy, isn't it?"


	2. Have a Nice Life

Harry sat on his bed that night just thinking. Draco Malfoy being the main object of his consideration. Yes, he had changed sides and yes, he loved him dearly, and yes, Draco loved him, too, but... Savior of the Wizarding World and Death Eater Spy didn't really have the makings of "great family", did it?

...Did it?

When Snape was discovered as a spy, Draco finally yeilded to his father's demand that he become a Death Eater. When he told Harry he would take Snape's place as spy, Harry had a first refused...

_"NO!" Harry yelled, turning to face the wall._

_"But, Love, it's the only way."_

_"Why you?"_

_"I'm the only one they wouldn't suspect." __Draco walked up to Harry and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist. "Besides, it will make the world a better place for our chidren. We'll adopt hundreds!"_

_Harry leaned back into Draco's arms. "I love you, you know that, right?"_

_Draco grinned and nodded. "And I love you too."_

_Harry turned around in Draco's arms, and lightly pressed his lips to the blonde's. "We should end this, love. For your safety. If anyone found out, you'd be discovered as a spy as well. And... I can't stand the thought of not having you after the war."_

_Draco nodded, gulping to keep his tears from flowing._

_Harry now touched their lips together again, this time with more force, as his hands began to roam Draco's torso..._

There was a knock at the door. Harry sighed, cursing his luck at having a raging hard on when someone decided to come talk to him. Damn Head Boy duties.

He opened the door to find no one standing outside. He closed and locked it, as he trod towards the shower, tossing his clothes off as he went. As he stepped under the stream of water, he wrapped his hand around himself, and began to pump. He groaned, and momentarily thought someone else had well. Damn missing HIS Draco. He closed his eyes and the hand on his erection was now Draco's, pumping him.

Suddenly, there was another hand over his and a deep sultry voice saying, "Let me help you with that" as a bare chest pressed into his back, and an unclothed erection pressed against his buttocks.

Harry whirled around, coming face to face with none other than Draco Malfoy.

After the two were both dressed again, and just lazing in Harry's bed, Daco placed one hand on Harry's abdomen, rubbing slow, soothing circles as Harry purred.

"Mmm... That feels good, love."

"It's supposed to, Mum says it calms the baby."

Harry jumped, "WHAT?!"

"I heard, love. Weasely told me. I won't be at any more DE meatings. I our child to know both of us. Besides, I always stick by my mistakes."

Harry gritted his teeth, and sighed, knowing what he had to do to keep Draco from being discovered as the spy and killed. "Don't worry, love. It was someone else's mistake."

Draco opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, then nodded as he picked up his invisibility coak. "You won't be hearing from me," His voice filtered through the air. "Have a nice life, Potter. I hope her other father loves you as much as I do."

Then the door unlocked opened and slammed shut as Draco walked out of Harry's life.


	3. A FireCall Away

Harry awoke to a knock on his door. "Come in," he mumbled.

Shasta, his eleven-year-old daughter walked in slowly, "Daddy, I had a weird dream."

"Come here and tell me about it," he said, sitting up and patting the bed.

Shasta sat beside her father and snuggled into his side as he pulled her curly blonde hair from her face.

"I was looking through the keyhole to a room, I'm not sure where it was, but I know it's someplae I've been before. Anyway, there were two men in the room - you and a man with long blonde hair. And you were fighting, but I couldn't tell what you were fighting about. But it was weird. I know the other man, but I know I've never met him."

Harry sighed, running his fingers through his shoulder-length hair, then across the stubble on his cheeks and chin. He pulled the covers from his legs and strolled to the dresser across the room. He sighed again as he picked his wallet up from it's top, opened it, and pulled a worn photo from inside. It was a Muggle photo of himself and Draco, taken a week before he had realised he was pregnant. He took the picture over to Shasta and showed it to her, "Is this him?"

Shasts studdied the photo. "Yes, I think it's an older version of him. Who is he?" She asked looking back up at her father.

"He was my boyfriend. Many years ago..." Harry glanced at the clock. It read 4:56am. "Are you ready for school, love?"

"Just a bit more packing to do."

"Why don't you go get that done while I make breakfast. Just a few more hours before we need to get to the platform."

Shasta nodded and hopped of the bed, hurrying to her room. Harry quickly changed from his pajama pants to jeans and a blue button-down shirt before heading downstairs to make waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, sausage, and scrambled eggs. It was six o'clock when Shasta came down into the kitchen to find Harry dishing up the eggs.

After they finished eating, Harry grabbed his car keys and hoisted Shasta's trunk onto one shoulder before loading it into the boot of his small sedan. He opened the passenger door for Shasta before seating himself behind the wheel and beginning the drive to King's Cross Station. Once there, Harry refused to get a trolley for Shasta's trunk, insisting that he could carry it. When they reached the barrier between platforms nine and ten, he told Shasta to run at it, that he would be right behind her. After she had stepped through, he casually leaned against it, and fell through.He had just enough time to grit his teeth as he saw his blonde-haired daughter run smack into his blonde ex-boyfriend on her way to the train. His free hand subconciously found itself rubbing at the stubble still on his cheeks as he watched Draco bend down and greet his daughter.

Harry took a deep breath and strolled up to the duo. Shasta turned to her father. "Daddy, meet Mr. Malfoy. He says he's going to teach me potions!"

There was a tense moment as their eyes met before Harry extended his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco accepted the handshake, but withdrew his hand quickly. "The same to you, Mr. Potter." He smiled sadly. "I had hoped, upon discovering this lovely girl was your daughter to meet your husband. He must be working."

Harry drew in a shaky breath. "I'm not married," he replied before turning to Shasta, "I'll load your trunk for you. Why don't you go find Ben and Gem?" He drew her into a one-armed hug, and kissed her cheek. "I love you, baby-girl. Write me lots of owls."

Harry turned to Draco. "I need to get this on the train. I'll see you around."

Harry turned and began walking to the baggage car when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "She's mine, isn't she, Harry?"

Harry sighed and murmured "Yes" before hurrying off to the rear of the train.

Harry took his time getting home, and discovered Hermione and Ron waiting for him in his den.

"...Yes?" he asked dropping his keys on the bookshelf by the doorway.

"We saw you talking to Draco on the platform," Ron stated getting up.

Harry sighed. "I really don't want to discuss this right now. What house do you suppose the twins will be in?"

Hermione, taking Harry's cue, replied, "I thin Gem will be in Ravenclaw. Ben, on the other hand is definitely a Gryffindor. What about Shasta?"

"I think she'll be in Slytherin, actually," Harry grinned.

The three chatted amiably until Ron remembered, "Bugger! 'Mione, my pot roast is in the oven!"

Harry laughed as his two best friends hurriedly flooed home. His laughter didn't last long, though. He simply knew he would get an owl or a fire-call from Draco, and not a pleasant one either. Harry took his wallet from his back pocket and for the second time that day removed Draco's picture. He stared at it for several minutes before clutching to his chest and as heaving sobs racked his body.

And this is the form that greeted Draco as his head popped into Harry's fireplace. Every harsh word he had prepared on the train ride died on his lips as he saw the broken form before him. "You lied to me," he whispered.

Harry's head snapped up and the photo fluttered to the floor as his hands hurriedly brushed away his tears. "Yes," he mumbled. "I was going to tell you after the war was over, but... She was nine. How do you explain that to a nine-year-old?"

"Why did you lie to me to begin with?"

"You were going to stop going to the meetings, and that's as good as signing your own death sentance. At least I would know you were alive, even if you weren't mine."

"Oh, Harry..." Draco's murmur was almost inaudible. "Can I... Can I come over for a little while? Just - Just to talk?"

A half-smile graced Harry's lips as he nodded.

Just as Draco's head disappeared, an owl flew through the open window. It was Janquil, the owl Harry had bought Shasta for her pet, with a note tied to her leg.

_Daddy!_

_It's so amazing here! I see why you loved it so much! _

_I'm sorry I didn't write you as soon as I found out, but we had to listen to the Prefect's speach and then Professor Malfoy's - He's my head of house. I'm in Slytherin, by the way. I'm psyched about potions. And transfiguration sounds amazing, too!_

_Love you._

Harry smiled to himself as he finished reading, not hearing the pop of the floo activating.

"Good news?" Draco asked, standing beside the fireplace.

"Yes, my daughter got in to the house I knew she would. Apparently, she loves Hogwarts as much as I did."

"Those were the days, huh?"

"Yeah. Would you like some tea, or something else to drink?"

"Tea's wonderful. If you still drink that ginger stuff you used to."

"I do," Harry said as he led Draco into the kitchen and put a kettle on the stove.


	4. For Old Times' Sake

"It's a nice little house, Harry," Draco mumbled as Harry bustled about the kitchen getting cups, sugar cream, and of course the tea bags.

"Thank you," Harry smiled, "I designed it myself."

"A man of hidden tallents."

Harry smiled and drew a deep breath. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Shasta. You. Me. Us."

"Well, starting with the first topic, Shasta was born at 4:25 on the morning of April third, 1998. Healthy and beautiful as she is now. Her full name is Shasta Nutallii Potter. She loves animals and is a wonderful Quidditch player. I think she'll be either a Seeker or Keeper next year. She's eleven, but you could figure that out. And I love her dearly." Harry stopped to pour the tea into two mugs and placed one before Draco. "Now, how about skipping to topic three so I'm not talking for an hour?"

Draco laughed. "I'm doing well. I finally got my Potions Mastery last year, and Sev offered me the Potions position after he became Headmaster. I've was married once, during the war, to Pansy Parkinson, so as to keep up my position of 'Good Little Death Eater Henchman' which ended (thank the gods) when she was captured at a raid. I have no children of my own, but I love all the children at Hogwarts, and look upon them as mine. And I've missed you terribly." Draco smiled sadly, as he reached across the table to lay a hand over Harry's.

Harry smiled back, and turned his hand over so that he could lace his fingers through Draco's. "Well, trying to raise Shasta by myself has, at times, been a challange. Not that having you around would have helped some things. There was the disussion of 'Daddy, where do babies come from?' when she was six. That was definitely interesting to explain. And when she got her first bra, I sort of sent her with her Aunt 'Mione. But it's been good. I've loved every minute of it, minus, perhaps, the changing of the diapers. Hermione and I run a bookshop in Diagon Alley selling Muggle books. You'd be surprised how much business we do. And I have also missed you."

Harry sighed, and again his stubble was rubbed by his free hand.

Draco took a deep breath. "...And us?"

Harry sighed. "I would love nothing more than to have you with me forever... But I need Shasta to get to know you as a friend before I make any decision."

Draco nodded and drew his hand away. "I understand." Draco stood and Harry followed suit. "May I kiss you? Just... for old-times' sake?"

Harry smiled and nodded. Draco trembled as he rounded the table, placing one hand on Harry's shoulder. A sigh escaped Harry's lips as he felt the familliar touch of his lover's lips to his own. The contact was soon broken and Harry opened his eyes to find he was, once again, alone in the room.


End file.
